Free Republic

CARACAS, Venezuela — (AP) — Venezuela's Supreme Court, loyal to President Nicolás Maduro, on Tuesday ordered the takeover of two influential political parties opposed to the socialist government ahead of parliamentary elections expected this year. The court suspended and replaced the board of directors for the Justice First party a day after the same move against the Democratic Action, one of the nation's oldest and largest parties. It was part of a “necessary restructuring process,” the court said in rulings posted on Facebook. No legal action was taken, however, against Popular Will, the party of opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who...

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela's only opposition leader to enter a bid so far for next year's presidential vote faces a Herculean task: defeating a wily politician who remains popular after seven years in office. The odds are against him, but Julio Borges appears undaunted by the challenge posed by President Hugo Chavez, a leftist former paratrooper who was re-elected in 2000 and handily defeated a recall vote last year. Borges told The Associated Press in an interview he is working toward two goals: convincing Venezuela's poor majority that upward mobility isn't possible under Chavez's populist policies and persuading international observers...